The man who turned down a move to join the UFC roster last year says there are more to life than title shots

For most fighters, being ranked among the best in their weight class would be an automatic invitation to advocate for a title-shot, but ONE FC’s Eddie Ng says that there are more important things in life.

Eddie Ng goes into his fight at ONE FC ‘Honor and Glory’ on Friday on a five fight winning streak. If he defeats his experienced opponent, Vincent Latoel, he will boast one of the best records of all the promotion’s fighters.

He would, under normal circumstances, be a strong candidate to fight for the lightweight belt were he to win.

However, the current ONE FC champion is Shinya Aoki. Aoki, a masterful submissions specialist, is often cited as the best lightweight currently fighting outside the UFC and, in addition to his title in his present promotion, has held tiles in DREAM, DEEP and Shooto. He is also Ng’s training partner at the prestigious ‘Evolve MMA’ gym in Singapore. And Ng is very clear, he will not be fighting Aoki, not even to become world champion.

“Shinya and I have spoken about this, we’ve talked about this quite a lot. I’ve said I’d never fight him, and he’s said he’d never fight me. It’s not just about being team mates, we’re quite close.

"If we were just training together, that would be one thing. But I’ve visited him in Japan and trained in Japan, and he’s shown me round.

"It’s a little bit different…it’s not just fighting a teammate, it’s fighting a friend."

Chances to become world champions in their sport come around rarely for most men, even if they are among the most gifted in their profession. If faced by the prospect of not being able to fight for a title, many fighters would either seek to change weight classes or search elsewhere.

However, for Ng, either outcome is impractical or undesirable, “I used to fight at welterweight, but I’d be at a huge disadvantage, because the guys are huge there, and I don’t think I could make featherweight without it severely affecting my performance.”

“But, you know what? Honestly, yes it would be nice to have a title, but that’s not why I fight.

"A lot of people will say, ‘How are you ever going to win the belt if you don’t fight Shinya?’, but that was never my goal when I decided to fight. It was never to be ‘champion’. What people don’t realise is, yes, I fight, but I don’t consider myself as a fighter first and foremost, I consider myself a martial artist, and fighting is part of martial arts.

"But everyone has a limited time as a fighter, and once that time is past, you’re not going to be able to fight anymore, and I will reach that time in my life, and I will still be a martial artist. And the point in being a martial artist is to be the best that you can be."

It is a view of the martial arts deeply rooted in Ng’s childhood. Born in Hong Kong, he grew up in Chester-Le-Street in the North East of England.

One of only a handful of Chinese families, Ng was increasingly picked on for looking different, but found inspiration in fellow countryman- and the most famous martial artist in history- Bruce Lee. Noting the respect classmates held for Lee, Ng sought to emulate him, starting first in wing chun.

Getty

Record: Ng has lost just one of eight fights for ONE FC

Inspired by Lee’s freestyle fighting philosophy, he abandoned the art as Lee had before him, then, copying moves he learnt from old VHS tapes of the very first UFC fights, he learnt to grapple by practising on and with his younger brother.

It was this path that lead him to training camps all over the world in place of traditional ‘holidays’ after competing near his family home on Tyneside. He was eventually invited to train and teach amongst the world’s elite at Evolve MMA.

It is there he signed with ONE FC, and where he continues to learn, to improve, and expand his repertoire. When asked if he would one day like to complete his martial arts journey by returning to the UK to fight, Ng was keen to emphasise his contentment with his situation as it was:

“At the moment, I’m only going to fight for ONE FC. It’s by far the best organisation I’ve fought for. They treat me really well, and I don’t really think, unless ONE FC go to the UK- and I don’t know if they would, that’s a question you’d have to ask them- but I don’t really see myself fighting in the UK. At least not the foreseeable future.”

This is perhaps not remarkable, especially since he and his friend Aoki are rumoured to have turned down the mighty UFC’s overtures to stay with an organisation they regard as home. His loyalty may, therefore, mean he will never wear a world championship belt, but he will remain an inspiring role model for young people finding their path in the martial arts.

ONE FC: Honor and Glory is headlined by Ben Askren Vs Bakhtiyar Abbasov, and will be streamed live in the UK from midday, Friday 30th May from: http://www.onefc.livesport.tv/